Inhuman Torture in China: the Tip of the Iceberg

May 01, 2008
|
By Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group

With the Chinese regime's roundup of Falun Gong practitioners in anticipation
of the Beijing Olympics, the massacre in Lhasa, Tibet, and the clampdown on the
media, the spotlight has been shining ever brighter on China's horrendous human
rights abuses.

The Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group (FLGHRWG) wishes to announce that
it has sent out millions of emails around the world to alert government
officials, NGOs, human rights groups, and many individuals of the inhuman
torture going on in China. In order to win the Olympics, China made a promise to
improve human rights. Far from keeping its promise, the human rights violations
have gotten worse -- much worse.

The following torture cases of Falun Gong practitioners represent just the
tip of the iceberg. They are typical of what tens of thousands have experienced,
what hundreds of thousands face, and what millions fear if they dare to place
their own belief above belief in the Chinese
Communist Party.

1. Ms. Zhang Yulan: In 2000, at the Changchun Women's Labor Camp, Ms.
Zhang was forced to do slave labor, often until midnight, and was beaten and
shocked with electric batons. In 2003, just two years after the Communist regime
promised to "improve human rights" in order to get the Olympics, Ms.
Zhang's father Zhang Quanfu, 65, died as result of tortures in Chaoyanggou Labor
Camp (in Changchun City) on January 8, 2003, and her brother Zhang Qifa, 38,
also died as result of tortures in Chaoyanggou Labor Camp on January 19, 2003,
for practicing Falun Gong. On November 28, 2007, the police arrested Ms. Zhang,
and caused her to "disappear." The authorities refuse to give her
family any idea of her whereabouts, or even tell them whether she is still
alive.

2. Ms. Zhao Zhongling: Ms. Zhao was arrested five times for practicing
Falun Gong, and suffered injuries due to torture each time. One month after her
arrest on March 23, 2007, the authorities reported that she was in critical
condition. However they refused to release her. They continued to use heavy
shackles on her legs, kept her tied to a bed and even sentenced her to three
years of forced labor. Ms. Zhao was tortured to death less than six weeks after
her arrest. She was only 44. After her death, the local authorities forced her
family to sign a statement acknowledging her "guilt."

3. Mr. Liu Hongwei and Ms. Mu Ping: On May 13, 2003, Mr. Liu's
wife was tortured to death at Jilin Province Heizuizi Women's Prison for
practicing Falun Gong. To avoid capture and further persecution, Mr. Liu had to
leave his daughter and lead a homeless existence. Ms. Mu Ping's husband was
tortured to death on May 13, 2002. For practicing Falun Gong, she herself had
been tortured at a labor camp for close to three years. After she was released,
her son never left her side.

The two adults came together, formed a new family, found work and settled
down. On October 24, 2006, the police arrested them again, ransacked their home,
and froze the 70,000 yuan in their bank account. Their children were
left without care, Ms. Mu Ping's mother suffered a heart attack. Both of their
elderly mothers are on the brink of mental collapse, and Mr. Liu and Ms. Mu are
still in prison for their belief.

4. Ms. Wei Fengju: Ms. Wei was first arrested in 1999. She was jailed for
speaking out about the persecution of Falun Gong. She was forced to work 17 to
20 hours per day and was sometimes not allowed to sleep at all. The guards used
electric batons to shock her on her chest and in her mouth, which disfigured her
mouth. When she was detained in February 2007, the torture left her with
abdominal pain and she could not eat. After her release, she could not recover
and died on July 12, 2007. Before her death, she told others, "I won't be
able to recover because they injected some unknown drug into me."

5. Mr. Li Hongfu: Mr. Li was repeatedly jailed and tortured for telling
people about the persecution of Falun Gong. The torture included the tiger
bench, electric shocks, nailing bamboo shoots under his fingernails and
merciless daily beatings by convicted drug addicts. The brutality caused Mr.
Li's spleen to rupture and his ribs fractured. He vomited and had difficulty
breathing. He weighed less than 40 kg (88 lbs), could no longer walk unaided,
and was in constant excruciating pain. Mr. Li never recovered and died on
December 8, 2006, at the age of 31.